1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waste powder recovery container, a connecting structure to a waste powder recovery container, a developing device, and an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional image forming apparatus of a so-called trickle type, in which a developer containing degraded carriers is discharged whereas a fresh developer is replenished, a waste developer to be discharged from a developing device is recovered in a waste powder recovery container. In such an image forming apparatus of the trickle type, a cylindrical discharging portion for discharging a developer is provided on a side of the developing device, and further, a developer discharging port, into which the discharging portion is inserted, is provided on a side of the waste powder recovery container (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 2000-98722 and 2008-134395).
In the conventional image forming apparatus, a waste toner scraped from an image carrier is also recovered in the waste powder recovery container for the purpose of space saving and cost reduction. Therefore, there arises the following problem: the waste toner recovered in the waste powder recovery container is liable to fly. When the flying waste toner attaches to the discharging portion which is inserted into the waste powder recovery container, the discharging portion, to which the flying waste toner attaches, is exposed when replacing the waste powder recovery container, and then, the waste toner flies around, thereby adversely influencing the image forming processing.